ON THIS DAY in JAZZ AGE MUSIC

THE BANDLEADERS 

Nat Gonella

NAT GONELLA Born: March 7, 1908 in London, England Died: August 6, 1998 Genres: Hot Jazz, British Dance Band, Dixieland Instruments: Trumpeter, Bandleader, Singer, also played Mellophone Associated acts: Lew Stone, Roy Fox, Nat Gonella and His Georgi...

Lew Stone

London native Lew Stone was an extremely popular bandleader, arranger, and pianist throughout the'30s. The self-taught musician also authored Harmony and Orchestration for the Modern Dance Band, a book that was the standard in its field against w...

THE MUSICIANS 

Mound City Blue Blowers

The Mound City Blowers were an unlikely success. Originally comprised of Red McKenzie on comb and tissue paper (which sounded like a kazoo), Dick Slevin on an actual kazoo, and Jack Bland on banjo, the unique band's initial recording in 1924 ("Arkans...

Louis Armstrong

 Birth Name  Louis Daniel Armstrong Also known as Satchmo, Pops Born August 4, 1901 New Orleans, Louisiana, USA Died July 6, 1971 (aged 69) Corona, Queens, New York City, NY, USA Genre(s) Jazz Dixieland Swing music Traditional po...

Bix Beiderbecke

Birth name: Leon Bismark Beiderbecke Born: March 10. 1903 Origin: Davenport, Iowa, U.S. Died: August 6, 1931 (aged 28) Genre(s): Jazz / Dixieland Occupation(s): Musician / composer Instrument(s): Cornet, Piano Years active: 1924-1931 Bix Beiderb...

Fats Waller

Background Information Birth name: Thomas Wright Waller Born: 21 May 1904 Origin: New York City Died: 15 December 1943 (aged 39) Genre: Jazz Occupation(s): Pianist, singer, organist

Sophie Tucker

Birth name Sonia Kalish Born January 13, 1884 Origin Czarist Russia Died February 9, 1966 Genre(s) Jazz vaudeville Occupation(s) Singer/Comedian   Sophie Tucker (January 13, 1884–February 9, 1966) was a singer and comedian, one of th...

Annette Hanshaw

Birth name Annette Hanshaw Born October 18, 1901 Origin USA Died March 13, 1985 Genre(s)Jazz Occupation(s) Singer Instrument(s) Vocals Annette Hanshaw was one of the first great female jazz singers. In the late 1920s she ranked alongside Ethel...

Ruth Etting

                  Ruth Etting on the cover of Radio Mirror magazine, June 1932.   Ruth Etting (November 23, 1896 – September 24, 1978) was an American singing star of the 1930s, who had over sixty hit recor...

Josephine Baker

Background information Birth name Freda Josephine Carson Born June 3, 1906, St. Louis, Missouri Died April 12, 1975, Paris, France Genre(s) Cabaret, Music Hall, French pop music Occupation(s) Singer, Dancer Josephine Baker (June 3, 1906 - April 12...

Ethel Waters

Background information: Born October 31, 1896(1896-10-31) Chester, Pennsylvania, USA Died September 1, 1977 (aged 80) Chatsworth, California, USA Genre(s): Jazz Occupation(s): Actress, singer Instrument(s): Vocals Years active: 1925-1977 Associated acts: Be...

Libby Holman

Libby Holman was an American torch singer and stage actress who was, in her time, considered both a scandalous tarnished lady and a tragedy-prone millionairess. Born: Elizabeth Lloyd Holzman May 23, 1904(1904-05-23) Cincinnati, Ohio Died: June 18,...

Bricktop

Ada Beatrice Queen Victoria Louise Virginia Smith, better known as Bricktop (Aug 14, 1894 - Feb 1, 1984) was an African-American dancer, singer, vaudevillian, and saloon-keeper who owned the nightclub Chez Bricktop in Paris from 1924 to 1961, as well...

Lee Morse

Birth name: Lena Corinne Taylor Born: November 30, 1897 (1897-11-30) Origin: Portland, Oregon Died: December 16, 1954 (aged 57) Genre(s): Jazz, Blues Occupation(s): Singer, Actress Instrument(s): vocals, guitar Years active: 1923-1953 Label(s): Pathe...

Florence Mills

Florence Mills, born Florence Winfrey (January 25, 1896 - November 1, 1927), known as the "Queen of Happiness," was an American cabaret singer, dancer, and comedian known for her effervescent stage presence, delicate voice, and winsome, wide-eyed bea...

Jane Green

Jane Green (2 January 1897 - 28 August 1931) was a United States singer popular in the 1920s. Green was born in Kentucky as Martha Jane Greene. She appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies and recorded over 30 phonograph records, and appeared in s...

Elsie Carlisle

Originally from Manchester, Elsie became extremely popular during the 1920s and 30s, recording with many of the big dance bands of the time, as well as solo. She recorded very little after the beginning of the Second World War, and retired from the e...

Lee Morse

"She was 5 feet tall. She was less than 100 lbs "soaking wet". She spent her childhood in Oregon and Idaho yet was proud of her family's Southern roots. She could hunt and fish and, if you deserved it, she could punch your lights out! She was Lee Mor...

The Boswell Sisters

The Boswell Sisters were a close harmony singing group that attained national prominence in the USA in the 1930s. Sisters Martha Boswell (June 9, 1905 - July 2, 1958), Connee Boswell (December 3, 1907 - October 11, 1976), and Helvetia "Vet" Bos...

Gene Austin

Gene Austin June 24, 1900-January 24, 1972 was an American singer and songwriter who is considered to have been the first "crooner". Background information Birth name: Gene Austin Born: June 24, 1900 Origin: Gainesville, Texas Died: January 24, 19...

Al Bowlly

Albert Allick 'Al' Bowlly (January 7, 1897/1899(?)–April 17, 1941) was a popular singer in the United Kingdom during the 1930s, making more than 1,000 recordings between 1927 and 1941. Bowlly was born in Mozambique to Greek and Lebanese paren...

Russ Columbo

Ruggero Eugenio di Rodolfo Colombo (January 14, 1908–September 2, 1934), better known by the name Russ Columbo, was an American singer, violinist and actor, most famous for his signature tune, "You Call It Madness, But I Call It Love,"...

Whispering Jack Smith

Jack Smith (31 May 1898 in New York City - 13 May 1950 in New York City) was known as "Whispering" Jack Smith and was a popular baritone singer in the 1920s and 1930s. He was a popular radio and recording artist who occasionally appeared i...

Smith Ballew

Date of Birth: 21 January 1902, Palestine, Texas Date of Death: 2 May 1984, Longview, Texas One of the finest singers of the Crooner era, Smith Ballew was nicknamed theTexas Troubadour. Born in Palestine, Texas, Ballew made his way to New York City a...

Cliff Edwards aka "Ukulele Ike"

Cliff Edwards Background information: Birth name Clifton A. Edwards Also known as "Ukelele Ike" Born 14 June 1895 Origin Hannibal, Missouri Died 17 July 1971 Genre(s) Jazz Vaudeville Occupation(s) Singer Instrument(s) Vocals Uk...

Seger Ellis

Background information Born: c. 1940 Houston, Texas Died: 1995, Houston, Texas Genre(s): Jazz Instrument(s): Voice, Piano                               Seger Ellis was a jazz...

Bing Crosby

Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Born on May 3, 1903, was an American popular singer and actor whose career lasted until his death on October 14, 1977. Background information Birth name: Harry Lillis Crosby Born: May 3, 1903(1903-05-03) Tacoma, WA, USA Di...

JAZZ AGE MUSIC 

Crooners and Songbirds

The Jazz Age! Tin Pan Alley!! The Great White Way!!!   croon    ( P )  Pronunciation Key  (krn) v. crooned, croon·ing, croons v. intr. 1.    To hum or sing softly. 2.    To sing popul...

Red Hot Jazz

JAZZ -noun 1. music originating in New Orleans around the beginning of the 20th century and subsequently developing through various increasingly complex styles, generally marked by intricate, propulsive rhythms, polyphonic ensemble playing, improvis...

Vintage Sheet Music

A BRIEF HISTORY OF SHEET MUSIC People have always loved music. It is said that almost anywhere one goes in the world, there will be somebody playing some kind of rhythm and tune, even if it is just hitting two sticks together! In the early 1900s, p...

The Jazz Age

The Jazz Age describes the period from 1918-1929, the years between the end of World War I and the start of the Roaring Twenties; ending with the rise of the Great Depression, the traditional values of this age saw great decline while the American st...

The Talking Machine

victrola (plural victrolas) In common usage, any upright or console model phonograph from the early 1900s, usually with a wooden cabinet body and an interior horn for the projection of sound, that plays 78 rpm records using a steel needle.

Also of Interest...

Vernon and Irene Castle

Vernon and Irene Castle were a husband-and-wife team of ballroom dancers of the early 20th century. They are credited with invigorating the popularity of modern dancing. Vernon Castle (May 2, 1887 - February 15, 1918) was born William Vernon Blyth i...

The Paper Moon

I never feel a thing is real When I'm away from you Out of your embrace The world's a temporary parking place A bubble for a minute You smile, the bubble has a rainbow in it Say, it's only a paper moon Sailing over a cardboard sea But it wouldn't b...

The Flappers!

flap*per n. 1. A broad flexible part, such as a flipper. 2. A young woman, especially one in the 1920s with disdain for conventional dress and behavior. [Sense 2, British Slang, very young female prostitute, flapper, possibly from flapper, fledgling...

The Jumping Flea

The ukulele (Hawaiian: ukulele, IPA pronunciation: ukulele, sometimes spelled ukelele (particularly in the UK) or uke, is a chordophone classified as a plucked lute; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four strings or f...

The Pansy Craze

The Pansy Craze was a period in the late 1920s and early 1930s in which gay clubs and performers (known as pansy performers) experienced a surge in underground popularity in the United States. In this period, there were drag performers such as Ray B...